Give Boris Some Credit

[crystal ball]

As tough as it sounds, I hope you and your friends get your fingers burnt then.

Do you know how the market works?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Do people here consider Prince Charles and the other aristocracy to be a private landlords about which something must be done?

At least 'ordinary' buy to let private landlords paid for their property.


No I don't have any.

 

[EddieM]

Do you know how the market works?

Yes, it doesn't. Simples.

 

[EddieM]

Do people here consider Prince Charles and the other aristocracy to be a private landlords about which something must be done?

At least 'ordinary' buy to let private landlords paid for their property.


No I don't have any.

Yep, abolish them all, take Cornwall back.

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

What twaddle.
You cannot vaccinate, cure, or treat something that does not yet exist.

Even if we had a pile of PPE to the Moon, and ITU beds in every bedroom in the country, none of it would prevent the need for ceasing close social contact.

Who said you could vaccinate or cure the virus? If you think I said that you are reading between the lines when there is nothing written there.
Treat the virus, you certainly can. Why do you think there have been recoveries, freak of nature perhaps. In which case why do we need hospitals, ITU beds etc? If we can't treat the virus, why bother with health care staff at all? Just leave the sick to heal themselves.

Did I suggest that social distancing would have been avoidable? You do seem to be reading your own interpretation into what I have said.
If we did have piles of PPE, sufficient ITU beds, sufficient capacity for testing and tracing, etc (as Germany, and other countries seems to have had) we would be in a position to take different courses of action, which may have avoided such severe and prolonged lockdown, In fact many think the lockdown is still not sufficiently long enough because we are where we are.

We are where we are because of decisions taken over the last 10 to 15 years, and especially in the last few months.
Where we are determines the limited directions and actions we now have available to us.
Going back to my little story, if we had been heading to Rosslare to catch a ferry to the continent, and getting lost meant we missed the ferry, our options would be limited and our chances of getting to France at a certain time scuppered.

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

the virus wouldve spread in the UK whatever decisions the govt took.

the govt response has been slow and lacked clarity, but no UK govt wouldve prevented a serious number of deaths, just not as bad as it has been

I never suggested it wouldn't spread.
You and Brigadier do like to attach comments to me that I have never made.

 

[crystal ball]

Yes, it doesn't. Simples.

What do you live in?

 

[Brigadier]

Just leave the sick to heal themselves.

The sick are (less than half the time) healing themselves. All our interventions are doing is buying some time, in case they are the ones who might not die. That is the current fact.

 

[EddieM]

What do you live in?

A house.

 

[ajohn]

The problem with property is that it's been seen as the best thing to invest in for a long time eventually spreading to houses. Take company pensions for instance. They found that investing property gave a higher return than the usual things the would go for so shifted lots to that area. Net effect was many companies taking pension holidays. Some were over subscribed anyway but all booms end so some pensions could no longer meet what they needed to and once a company was used to a holiday no wish to pay their proportion again.

There has been house price crashes. People can finish up owing more than than their property is worth. Avoiding that especially if other hard times come about such as job losses is highly desirable. So as a friend off mine used to say they keep making it easier for people to buy them. He kept waiting for them to go down. Changes. Low deposits at times. Including 1/2 of a second salary - good for couples. Then both salaries. So called low cost endowment policies that didn't yield as much as endowment policies usually did once returns dropped from crazy highs. A real endowment mortgage costed a lot more than a conventional mortgage but could pay off early. Both sold a lot of life insurance - keeps the mortgage holder happy. There money is safe what ever. Also interest only mortgages. Idea there is house price at the end of 25years is enormous and what needs paying back is trivial. Then along comes buy to let mortgages or people raising a 2nd mortgage on a property that is paid for and using it to buy another and rent it.

End of lease hold must have increased prices as well. Odd thing about that is that ground rent was always very very low. Now the sharks make use of it. Land prices go up and up as areas that can be built on get more and more limited.

 

[Brigadier]

In which case why do we need hospitals, ITU beds etc?

In the case of this novel virus, we didn't know if they would do any good.
Why do we try?
The status quo.
Humanity.
Hope.

We know think / "know" that about half of cases will survive, if we keep them alive long enough to heal themselves.

Otherwise, you're just spinning around in wilder and greater numbers of distractions and distortions, to muddy your original waffle.

If I can be bothered (and get my laptop), I might summarise your bow lox after Wheeler Dealers.

 

[crystal ball]

A house.

Is it yours?

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

The sick are (less than half the time) healing themselves. All our interventions are doing is buying some time, in case they are the ones who might not die. That is the current fact.

You mean we are treating them? So we can treat the virus, or the patients with the virus?
So we ought to have had more PPE in stock, and ITU beds in preparation for a pandemic, as per the leaked 2019 report.
Let's face it, a pandemic is a little like a corrupt hard disk. You know it's coming, you just don't know when, and when it happens, if you're not properly prepared there's f-all you can do, and your options are severely limited.
We are where we are due to decisions taken, and our options are severely limited.

 

[EddieM]

Is it yours?

No. My other halves. No mortgage.

 

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Otherwise, you're just spinning around in wilder and greater numbers of distractions and distortions, to muddy your original waffle.

Me? distracting and distorting?
My message has been clear, specific and sustained. In fact, in a recent response, I linked back to my original comment on this issue.
We are where we are now due to decisions taken over the last 10 to 15 years and especially over the last few months.
Where we are now severely limits our options going forwards, especially if you add in: "and trying to save face".